PAYG? Have we purchased the wrong sim?

[MKJ]

I am mobile phone inept.  I have no idea what I am doing with them.  My partner has purchased a very simple phone in an attempt to emulate the setup I have.  What I have, is an Alcatel PAYG mobile phone that remains active, and retains credit, as long as I make a phone call every so often.  The sim card she has purchased from Amazon seems the right one, but there is reference to 8GB of data and 500 minutes of unlimited texts and so on.  It supposedly comes with £10 credit on activation.  Is this the wrong sim?  Is it some sort of pack sim requiring monthly renewal or the credit will disappear? 

She has no need of the 8 GB of data or the 500 mins of unlimited texts as she will hardly ever use it.  I figure this is the wrong sim card?

[Christopher_G]

Hi @MKJ 

If you have purchased this through Amazon, you'll need to check with the seller how the SIM is set up. They should be able to answer your question, if it isn't in the description.

Chris

[MKJ]

Well, I have paid the extra £10 to activate the phone (and credit).  I have also created a new account for her on the EE website.  On linking her mobile to her account everything seems fine.  On completion, though, this message appears ...

"Go to the Mobile area of your account to manage it or find your bills"

But where is it?  I can not find any reference to such an area?  There is no link?

The phone seems to be activated and it can make calls, but the credit remains at zero?

This is the card we purchased ...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EE-Preloaded-£10-8GB-unlimited-GR/dp/B06X9C8PXF/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

[XRaySpeX · Accepted solution]

@MKJ : Linky doesn't compute! It is corrupted. Corrected:

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@MKJ wrote:

This is the card we purchased ...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/EE-Preloaded-£10-8GB-unlimited-GR/dp/B06X9C8PXF/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top...

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You have bought a standard £10 PAYG SIM from the EE Store on Amazon for £10. As it's from EE itself you have paid no extra, as is usual for other sellers, for the pleasure of buying it. So the whole £10 will be used for buying the said pack.

What does texting AL to 150 from this no. fully report verbatim (it is free)?

It's not "500 minutes of unlimited texts" but 500 minutes and unlimited texts. If you want none of this allowance text STOP PACK to 150 before you next top-up & you can use the SIM for calls & texts but not data as normal PAYG at standard per-unit rates paid for out of your standing PAYG credit balance. However the £10 has probably already been used to buy this initial pack. So you will need to top-up again.

To save the SIM going into hibernation due to lack of use, just remember within every 179 days (~ 6 months) to make a chargeable action like making a chargeable call or text, topping up or buying a Pack or Add-on, not just using your mins, texts or data from any Pack or Add-on you might have.

[MKJ]

I think I have been ripped off somewhere along the line as I just found the same card on Amazon for just 75p.  What about the £10 credit I just placed on the phone?  Are you telling me that has gone as well?  Blimey, £20 gone in the blink of an eye, if that is the case.

Thanks for the rest of the info, as it looks like the phone will work as intended, eventually.

Does all the phone malarky have to be so complicated?  Keep it simple, surely?

[XRaySpeX]

That's what I was alluding to. Buying from others you pay a nominal amount, like 75p, just for the pleasure of buying it from them but you get no £10 credit with it & you have to top it up yourself for £10. Buying from EE as you did you pay £10 & that goes immediately as credit on the SIM & you've no need to top-up to get the pack. You have not been ripped off.

Let's see the result from the AL text & we'll see just where you stand with it.

[MKJ]

OK, I think I am beginning to understand it all now.

As odd it might seem, I very rarely, if ever, use a mobile phone.  I even had to look up how to text.  I followed your instructions, but AL didn't seem to do anything, unless I missed a call or something?  

Whatever money I have placed on the phone will not turn into credit at anytime in the future?  I texted BALANCE and the phones credit is still at zero.  The £20 paid is all to do with a certain pack?  If I cancel the pack right now what happens?

[XRaySpeX]

What is the full reply from BALANCE?

AL, ALLOWANCE, BAL & BALANCE all do the same thing.

Am I reading you right? You spent £10 on Amazon & then added £10 top-up yourself making a total of £20? If that's the case you should have ended up with a £10 pack active + £10 credit.

[MKJ]

Balance says I have 498 minutes , unlimited texts and 8GB remaining until 24/05/2024.

I topped up using 2 x £5 instead of £10 in one go.  Probably another mistake I made.

Oh well, at least I know how to text now and have a good idea how to handle the thing from here on in.

[XRaySpeX]

So you seem to have everything bar the 2 x £5 top-up credit (it makes no diff if you top-up in bits).

May I see the exact wording of the complete BAL response w/out you trying to interpret it?